Some deep stations of the London Underground were used for protection of people during the Second World War.. How were the stations of the London Underground used during the Second Worl
Trang 1THE LONDON UNDERGROUND
1 Read about the history of the London
Underground and answer the questions
The London Underground
The London Underground was the first underground
system in the world It is over 140 years old Its’
construction began in 1860.The system was opened in
1863 and was only 4 miles long (6.5 kilometers)
running from the west of London to the city in the
east It was not very deep and steam trains were
used Then deeper tunnels were built and in 1890 the
electric railway was opened Londoners called this
system the Tube and it is still a very popular name
for the London Underground Some deep stations of
the London Underground were used for protection of
people during the Second World War A great
number of people use the underground system every
day because it connects nearly all the parts of this
magnificent city It is not only the oldest and the
biggest in the world, but it is one of the most
modern and efficient systems, comprising eleven
lines which cover London
Questions: 1 When did the construction of the
underground begin? 2 When was it opened? 3 How
long was the first line? 4 How were the stations of
the London Underground used during the Second
World War? 5 What can you say about the
underground nowadays?
2 Read and say what information is new (pay attention to the underlined phrases):
The London Underground Nowadays
London Underground operates nearly 400 route miles of underground railway line, the majority of which is double track Most of the underground lines are deep level tubes which currently extend for nearly 172 route miles The highest point reached by London Underground trains is at Amersham on the Metropolitan Line at about 500 feet above sea level. The absolute deepest part of the system is on the Northern where, below Hampstead Heath, the rails are over 220 feet below the ground The longest continuous journey
on the Underground (without a change of trains)
is on the Central Line where a journey from West Ruislip to Epping covers just over 34 miles. The shortest distance between stops is on the Piccadilly Line: Leicester Square and Covent Garden stations being a mere 0.16 miles. The busiest line on the system is the District Line which carries over 180 million passengers per year over its 40 mile length
(adapted from http://www.londonrailways.net)
3 What route do the girls choose?
K: Look Mary, here is the underground map.
M: We are at St Paul’s It is the Central Line.
K: We need to get to the Leicester Square First of
all we have to go to the Tottenham Court Road and
then change to the Northern Line and the next
station will be the Leicester Square
M: Kate, look, we can do it quicker We can go to
Holborn, change to the Piccadilly Line and then we
get to the Leicester Square
K: Your route is better
4 Arrange the dialogue in the logical order and read it:
- And in my route there are only five and it is
quicker
- Or we can go to Holborn, change to the Piccadilly
Line and the second stop will be the Piccadilly Circus
1 Look at the map, Mary We are at the Bank now
It is the Central Line
- We can go to the Oxford Circus and change there
to the Bakerloo Line and the next station will be the Piccadilly Circus
- Lets count the stops In my variant there are six
stops
- OK, let’s try your variant
- We need to go to the Piccadilly Circus.
5 What are the most interesting facts?
*The Underground name f irst appeared on stations in
1908
*London Underground has been known as the Tube
since 1890, when the f irst deep-level electric railway
line was opened
* The Tube’s world-f amous logo, ‘the roundel’ (a red
circle crossed by a horizontal blue bar), f irst appeared
in 1908
*Number of miles/ km travelled by each Tube train each
year: 114,500 mile/ 184,269 km
* Total number of passengers carried each year: 1,107
million
* Average train speed: 33 km per hour/ 20.5 mph
* Length of network: 402 km/ 249 miles
* Total number of escalators: 426
* Station with most escalators: Waterloo – 23
* Longest escalator: Angel – 60m/ 197f t, with vertical rise of 27.5m/ 90f t
* Shortest escalator: Stratf ord, with a vertical rise
of 4.1m
* Total number of lif ts, including f our stair lif ts: 164
* Total number of stations served: 270
* Total number of staf f : 19,000 approx
* Carriages in London Underground’s f leet: 4,134
(adapted f rom http:/ / www.tf l.gov.uk)
Trang 2EX.4:
K: Look at the map, Mary We are at the Bank now It is the Central Line.
M: We need to go to the Piccadilly Circus.
K: We can go to the Oxford Circus and change there to the Bakerloo Line and the next station will
be the Piccadilly Circus.
M: Or we can go to Holborn, change to the Northern Line and the second stop will be the
Piccadilly Circus
K: Let’s count the stops In my variant there are six stops.
M: And in my route there are only five and it is quicker.
K: OK, let’s try your variant.